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Demons
Demon is a general term for any of the supernatural entities originating in The Other Place and commanded by magicians in the alternate world of the Bartimaeus Trilogy. Although considered disparaging and more than a little disrespectful by Bartimaeus, it is commonly used by magicians, particularly during their incantations. It is notable that during the course of the trilogy no other demon commented on the use of the word other than Bartimaeus, so finding it especially offensive may just be a quirk of his personality. While no real alternative to the word is presented within the stories (other than referring to demons by more specific terms), in the introductory 'List of Characters' found in some of the books, the author refers to the demons collectively as 'spirits'. Classes Of Demon There are five 'basic ranks' of demon, although there are, according to Bartimaeus, 'legions of lowly sprites' too weak to fit within the lowest subclass, and 'great entities of terrible power' that are likewise too powerful to fit within the highest class of generally summoned spirits. Marids Marids are the strongest form of commonly summoned demon, although none are actually summoned in the books. There are however, a couple of mentions of specific marids; Atlas was a marid who was enslaved by Phinidas to construct the Parthenon, and was then charged to hold it up indefinitely after his work was proven to be shoddy. Harold Button also mentioned that he lost his leg whilst summoning a marid in order to converse with it. Afrits Afrits are the second strongest conventional class of demon, and are seen much more often throughout the trilogy than marids. Bartimaeus refers to them in Ptolemy's Gate as "over-rated", although this comment is probably the result of jealousy on his part. Notable afrits within the context of the Bartimaeus Trilogy are: *''Honorius'' - a ninth-level afrit who was bound in servitude to William Gladstone, charged to guard his tomb forever. Honorius was driven mad by his extended servitude, but found solace from the pain of the physical world by actually encasing himself within the bones of his former master. Bartimaeus mistakenly believed himself to have destroyed Honorius by drowning him in the Thames; Honorius was later destroyed fighting Duvall's Golem. *''Naeryan'' - a female afrit who took part in the Spirit Uprising but was ultimately killed by Bartimaeus and Nathaniel. *''Shubit'' - Ms Whitwell's afrit who last appeared during her futile attempts at escape from before Nouda; his servitude ended with her death. Other afrits mentioned by name include: Mormel, Patterknife, Phoebus, Rekhyt (a name also used occasionally by Bartimaeus) and Tchue. Djinn Djinn (pronounced 'jinn') is the plural of Djinni. Djinn are the third most powerful kind of demon; most demons summoned by magicians tend to fall into this category. Partly as a result of this and partly as a result of the fact that Bartimaeus, who narrates a large percentage of the trilogy, is a djinni, more djinn are mentioned, and more details of their various strengths and habits are brought to the reader's attention. Notable djinn within the story line are: *''Ascobol'' - A greater djinni in the service of Mr Mandrake who had a distaste of Bartimaeus, and frequently irritated him. He took the semblance of a slightly effeminate cyclops. He was later slain by Faquarl. *''Bartimaeus'' - An ancient djinni of the fourteenth level who narrates much of the story. He has had many well known masters such as Gilgamesh, Solomon, Ptolemy, Faust and, most recently within the chronology of the alternate world, John Mandrake. Although not the most powerful of djinn, Bartimaeus has survived for millennia largely due to his quick wittedness and guile - however he is referred to in Trismegistus' Manual as having 'great ingenuity and no little power' and also as being 'dangerous'. *''Cormocodran'' - A third level djinni in the service of John Mandrake. He preferred the semblance of large things, and last chose to be a large tusked boar. He had apparently done time in Ireland. He was later slain by Faquarl before the Great Spirit Rebellion. *''Faquarl'' - Referred to by Bartimaeus as his 'nemesis', Faquarl is seen to be considerably more powerful than Bartimaeus, and the possessor of great intelligence, though not necessarily greater than Bartimaeus. It is noted that he often takes on the semblance of a cook, which he attributes to the fact that there are lots of sharp and lethal objects to be found in a kitchen. He was destroyed by Bartimaeus and Nathaniel during the Spirit Uprising. *''Hodge'' - A djinni employed by Mandrake. His form was seen to be a giant lizard that shot poisonous spines, and may or may not have been very smart, as Bartimaeus questioned, seriously, whether or not he could read. He was later slain by Faquarl just before the Great Spirit Rebellion. *''Jabor'' - A higher djinni who usually prefers as a tall red skinned man with the head of a jackal, Jabor has been described as 'moronically strong to the point of indestructible'; however, he is somewhat lacking in intelligence. Bartimaeus destroyed him by luring him into a rift caused by the arrival of Ramuthra - he was apparently torn apart. *''Mwamba'' - A female djinni who served John Mandrake, and apparently had more apt at taking on forms than other Djinn. She was known to be more sympathetic to Bartimaeus during his extended time on Earth. She may have listened to Bartimaeus' warning about "Hopkins", but she did not hear him, and was slain by Faquarl just before the Great Spirit Rebellion. *''Nemaides'' - Mr Tallow's djinni, who always takes the shape of a tall green monkey. He was the demon who inflicted the Black Tumbler on Jakob Hyrnek and Kitty Jones on Mr Tallow's orders. *''Queezle'' - A female djinni with whom Bartimaeus is known to have had a deep relationship. She had done time in Asia, and was working with Bartimaeus at the fall of the Holy Roman Empire. She was later reunited with Bartimaeus during the Golem Affair, though was unfortunately killed by the creature. Other djinn mentioned by name include: Affa, Asmoral, Castor, Fritang, Ianna, Karloum, Methys, Nubbin, Penrenutep, Purip, Rekhyt (another one), Teti, Zeno and Zosa. Foliots Foliots are considerably less powerful than djinn, and Bartimaeus, and presumably other beings more powerful than foliots, view them with some disdain. There is only one foliot of any note within the Bartimaeus trilogy: *''Simpkin'' - A foliot in the service of Mr Pinn, who actually derived a certain amount of satisfaction and pride from his servitude, which, amongst other things, led Bartimaeus to regard him with contempt. Despite having the opportunity to escape his fate, Simpkin chose to attack a golem and die rather than leave Mr Pinn's Store. The only character in the trilogy other than the three main protagonists to have a chapter (albeit a short one) told from his point of view. Other foliots mentioned by name include: Clovis, Frisp, Pollux and Sophocles. Imps Barely worthy of classification, imps have little power, although certain of them fulfill useful roles, such as acting as Search Spheres. Physiology Demons are composed of Essence, which is entirely different to anything from this world; described as a kind of 'smokey liquid'. While they usually have a 'true form', often a hideous creature with many tentacles and other protrusions, this is often only visible on the seventh plane, and is not, in fact, a manifestation of their actual true form, but merely a convenient statement as to the nature of their power on Earth. On the lower planes, demons can shapeshift at will, taking on any form they choose, though this is somewhat limited by the extent of their power. When exhausted, or exposed to silver, it can be harder for them to shift between shapes, or even maintain a solid one at all. Nevertheless, despite physical appearances, demons do not possess a physical shape on Earth, unless, as seen in the case of Honorius and the demons in the Spirit Revolt of Ptolemy's Gate, they are bound into a physical object. Powers, Abilities and Weaknesses Although the exact powers of imps and foliots are not specifically recorded, it is known that djinn, afrits and marids can deal powerful magical attacks, such as: *Combustions *Detonations *Fluxes *Infernos Demons can fly and shapeshift as well, making them formidable opponents. With assistance from their masters, they can also teleport to a certain extent. More powerful entities than marids, such as Ramuthra, warp reality in their wake. The majority of djinn, afrits and marids are able to see on all seven planes, although not all lower spirits are able to see on more than three. Demons are, however, vulnerable to certain substances, most notably silver, which offers magicians a degree of protection from them. They are also shown to be weakened by iron, although to a slightly lesser extent, and certain herbs and powders, such as rosemary. In addition, demons' masters can visit cruel and torturous magical punishments upon their demons, although these can be reversed by the demons if they somehow come into possession of their master's birth name. These punishments include: *The Red-Hot Stipples *The Systematic Vice *The Punitive Jab *The Essence Rack *The Stimulating Compass *Inverted Skin *Stricture *The Mournful Orb *The Shriveling Fire Summoning In order to summon a magical entity from the Other Place, a magician must draw a pair of pentacles, in one of which he must stand and in another of which the demon will appear. Many other precautionary measures must be taken to prevent the magician's death at the hands of the entity he summons - {see Summoning). The Magician-Demon Relationship Usually, demons are enslaved forcibly by magicians. Over the millennia, demons have come to loathe magicians (although it is noted that a large proportion of them feel no particular hatred of commoners), and to seek ways of killing and destroying them. If a demon is summoned incorrectly, then they will attempt to kill (and more often than not succeed) the magician doing the summoning. In recent times, the djinni Faquarl, along with the greater spirit, Nouda, manipulated the magicians of London into summoning demons into their own bodies, wrongly thinking that they would receive demonic powers whilst still remaining in control of their minds. Once summoned however, the demons destroyed the minds of the magicians and began a revolt, which was stopped as a result of the teamwork of Bartimaeus and Nathaniel. There are exceptions to the rule. Not all demon-master relationships are relationships of hate and distrust. The Egyptian magician Ptolemy was known for being especially benevolent to the demons he summoned, and went so far as to follow Bartimaeus back to the Other Place in order to show his trust. A relationship of respect also formed between Bartimaeus and Kitty after she underwent a similar ordeal, which eventually extended to Nathaniel, when he released Bartimaeus from his service before he was going to die (Ptolemy's Gate). Category:Demons Category:Beings